Knowing Christ
Is There More to Life?
We live in a day and age when the security of “knowing” has been replaced with confusion and wonder. There are so many voices today; who’s right and who’s wrong? Never before in the history of mankind have so many different viewpoints, opinions and perspectives been available to us. It seems that with the internet, TV, news and print, there is a never-ending assault on our own beliefs. What we believe today may not be what we believe tomorrow. It seems as though our beliefs and convictions change like the weather in Cleveland.
And yet somewhere, deep down inside of all of us, there is this nagging feeling that there has to be more to life than this. You know what, you’re right! The fact is, Almighty God loves you and has a purpose and plan for your life, and, hard as it is to believe, God loves you, yes you.
Where am I?
Aside from those who choose to reject or ignore it, most people alive today have a belief in God. Most people also know, if they were honest, that we as people, have missed the bull’s eye in terms of our relationship with Him. So what does it take to “get right with God?”
If you’re asking this question, then the good news is that you’ve already taken the first step towards God. So where are you now? Well, you’re in the same place as the rest of all mankind, separated from God. And what separates us? The Bible says in the book of Romans, chapter 3 and verse 23, that “all have sinned,” and that is why we are separated from God. If we choose to ignore this or refuse to confront it, the Bible says that it will result in eternal separation from God.
The Solution
You’ve seen it at football games and maybe at other sporting events, you know, the big sign in the end zone that says JOHN 3:16. It’s a reference to a verse in the Bible from St. John’s gospel that says, “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse in the Bible is perhaps the most memorized, most quoted verse of all scripture; but what makes it so important? The verse tells us that God, understanding our “separated state,” not only loved us, as it says in John 3:16, but He also demonstrated His love to us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ to die for us. God did this, even though we, as sinners, were separated from Him.
Most of us know the story of Christmas, no not the Santa Claus version, but the Babe in the Manger version. What most people don’t know is that it was a real, historical event and not just a story. God, wanting to close the separation between Himself and His beloved creation, sent His only Son, Jesus to be born of the blessed Virgin Mary on that Christmas morning, to live, and ultimately to die an agonizing death on the cross, so that each of us could have the debt of our sin forgiven and live the life God intended both during our stay here on earth and through all of eternity in His heaven.
What do I do now?
The Bible uses a word that is not often used or real familiar today; the word is “repent.” It’s a word that simply means to have a change of mind. It’s as if you were heading some place and decided that you didn’t want to go there, so you turned around. In terms of our relationship with God, it simply means that we want to turn from our life of separation from God to a life with God. In terms of our stubborn ways (sin), you simply acknowledge before God that you are sorry for who you’ve been and what you’ve done, and then make that “change of mind” that says to God, “Alright, I’ll stop doing my thing, and allow you to do your thing in my life.” If you’re ready to make that decision now, I invite you to say this prayer.
A Prayer
“Lord Jesus, I’ve just read how you came to this earth to die for my sins and I want to thank you. I humbly ask you now to forgive my sins. I ask you Lord Jesus to help me, through the power of your Spirit, to repent. I ask you Lord Jesus to come into my life, be my Lord and my Savior. Help me to make this big decision in my life, to change my mind. Lord Jesus, I ask you to dissolve the separation between me and our Father in heaven. I want to be with you and to serve you for the rest of my time here on earth. Amen.”
